Toyota Motor’s plan to launch its hybrid car, the Prius, in India in January 2010 is on track. The car is powered by a petrol engine as well as batteries. Mr Mitsuhiro Umeyama, Gerneral Manager at Toyota’s global R&D division, said that approximately 5 per cent of the total vehicles sold by the company are hybrids, and that it was aiming for the same in India.
Toyota has not been deterred by the poor performance of the Honda Civic Hybrid in the country. The Civic Hybrid’s high price prevented it from doing well, ultimately forcing Honda to discontinue the car. This was mainly due to the high import duty on it.
Mr Umeyama said that Toyota was not depending entirely on any one alternative fuel technology, and that it was developing electric cars, hybrids and fuel cells at the same time. While electric cars are suitable for city transport, hybrid cars can be used for long-distance traveling.
The high price of the Toyota Prius will not bother Indians as our Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh, has proposed the Finance Ministry to to reduce the import duty on hybrid vehicles. This will encourage global car makers to roll out more eco-friendly cars in India.